My friends often joke that there are two things that I hold dear to my heart... Pizza and charitable causes! I was super excited to learn that from August 31 to October 11, Boston Pizza is bringing back its annual Boston Pizza Kids Cards in support of the Boston Pizza Foundation Future Prospects Program!

The Boston Pizza Kids Cards are an amazing deal for Canadian families, as a minimum donation of $5 gets you 5 free kids meals! ( That is a $35 value!!) Also, if you register the card with a MyBP Account ( which is available at www.bostonpizza.com or on the Boston Pizza iPhone app) you will get a 6th kids meal for free!

While I think that this is an amazing deal on its own, I am even happier to know that the money raised by this promotion goes directly to support local charities through the Boston Pizza Foundation Future Prospects. Last year, this program raised over $670,000 for programs that provide Canadian kids with role models and mentoring programs. This year, the foundation is proud to partner with Big Brothers Big Sisters, JDRF Canada, Kids Help Phone, Live Different and The Rick Hansen Foundation. The goal for 2015 is to raise $730,000 for these amazing organizations!
Kyron and I picked up his Boston Pizza Kids Card this weekend! For more information, head over to www.bostonpizza.com

You have to love technology! When I was a kid, I used to love writing my annual letter to Santa every December and awaiting his reply. These days, kids can use technology to get in touch with the jolly elf himself in ways that many of us could never have imagined.

This year, we were lucky to have found a way to Skype live with Santa! Our two year old son Kyron was so excited when he found out he would be able to chat with Santa on the computer! The folks at the Toronto Eaton Centre have set up a cool "Skype with Santa" program and I was thankful for the invitation.

Check out the excitement on Kyron's face when he realizes that Santa already knows what he would like for Christmas this year ( and when he recalls what he brought him last year!) and the other unique, personalized information Santa seems to "know"....

The 2012 Fall Tour Will Be The Last Chance For FansTo See The Original Fab Four Perform Live On Stage!

The Wiggles, the world’s most famous children’s entertainment group, recently announced
that 2012 will be the final year of their original lineup. After 21 years of entertaining and educating children around the globe, Red Wiggle Murray Cook, Yellow Wiggle Greg Page and Purple Wiggle Jeff Fatt have decided to hang up their trademark colored jerseys. This year’s fall tour will be the last opportunity for families in Calgary to see the Original Fab Four from Down Under perform together.

Come Celebrate with Anthony, Greg, Murray, and Jeff at the Calgary Stampede Corral on Friday, October 13th for two shows at 2:30 PM and 6:30 PM. The Celebration Tour, which corresponds with the release of their new DVD and CD, “The Wiggles Big Birthday,” will honor over two decades of Wiggly singing, dancing, and performances for children and their parents. Beginning in 2013, The Wiggles will launch a new lineup that will usher in an exciting new era for future generations of children to continue to delight in the Wiggles unique brand of music, fun and learning.

Tickets for Calgary are on sale now and are available through all Ticketmaster locations, online at
Ticketmaster.ca or by calling (855) 985-5000 and the venue box office. Prices range from $14.50 - $75.50 (additional facility fees, service charges and $.50 donation to UNICEF may apply). $75.50 tickets in the Wiggles VIP section are limited, and will include the best seats in the house, an exclusive gift, an activity sheet and your last chance to dance along with The Original Wiggles themselves!

Want to win a set of four tickets to the 6:30pm show?

I have four tickets to give away to a lucky reader for the 6:30pm October 26, 2012 show! To enter, simply leave a comment on my blog telling me who you would take to the show and who your favorite character is!

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Bonus Entry: Please tweet this contest and be sure to let me know if you did! Feel free to use this tweet... " Enter to win a set of four tickets to the Wiggles in #yyc Enter Here http://bit.ly/QrzjwL via @calgarydaddy "

Contest closes 10/23/12 and winner will be chosen at random and notified by email!

SESAME STREET LIVE IS COMING TO CALGARY!
Sesame Street Live “Elmo Makes Music” is coming to the Calgary, AB Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium onFriday, July 27 through Sunday, July 29, 2012! Kyron is the hugest Elmo fan and he is going to love this show! He is so excited to see this and I cannot wait to see his face when he sees the Sesame Street gang live!

Mark your calendar for this once-in-a-lifetime event—monsters becoming musicians! Elmo, The Count, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Bert & Ernie and all their funny and furry friends are taking to the stage to share the magical world of music with children. When Jenny, the new Sesame Street music teacher, moves into town, her instruments get lost. Jenny’s new Sesame Street friends quickly come to her rescue, and they all discover "instruments" that they never knew existed…rubber duckies, trash can lids and even their own laps! The characters teach children, and themselves, that everyone has the ability to make beautiful music, whether they realize it or not. Don’t miss this opportunity to count alongwith The Count, visit Elmo’s World and do the Crumb-A-Rumba with Rosita and Cookie Monster at Sesame Street Live "Elmo Makes Music.

Sesame Street Live is a larger-than-life, musical touring stage production featuring Big Bird, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie…and more. Each performance is 90 minutes of singing, dancing and audience participation, including a 15 minute intermission. The perfect length for very young children!

I am happy to be able to offer my readers a special $3.00 discount code for each ticket!

Save $3 per ticket! Simply use the code ERNIE online at ticketmaster.ca to receive
the special offer. (Offer excludes Gold Circle & Sunny Seats. Not valid on opening night or previously purchased tickets. Cannot be combined with any other offer.)

With the 2012 CFL season opener just a few weeks away, many Canadians are waiting anxiously for the season to begin! The start of the CFL season coincides with the start of the summer, warmer weather and the tailgate season. 2012 is unique as Reebok has introduced a new line of CFL jerseys to kick off the new season.

"After 2 years of hard work and close collaboration with the CFL and the teams, Reebok is proud to introduce its re-engineered CFL jersey. For a greater range of motion and a better on field experience, the new On Field jersey is tighter, lighter and now features moisture wicking technology incorporated in the fabric. The fan jersey has also been improved to offer a more lifestyle fit," explained Stewart Clark, Director of Marketing at Reebok Canada in a recent press release.

Personally, I think that these new jerseys look amazing and are far superior to the previous editions and they have a much sleeker, modern look.

I am super excited to be able to host an amazing giveaway to help kick off the launch of the CFL season and the release of these amazing jerseys! One lucky reader will win an Ultimate CFL Fan Bag, which includes the following prizes...

Reebok-CFL Re-engineered Calgary Stampeders Premier Fan Jersey

Two tickets to see a Calgary Stampeders game

Reebok CFL Calgary Stampeders Hat

Reebok sports duffle bag

Reebok ZigTech shoes

Total approximate value - $650

These jerseys are in stores now and you can grab your own Reebok-CFL Re-engineered Calgary Stampeders Premier Fan Jersey at CFLshop.ca, Sport Chek, Sports Experts, RiverCity Sports and Jersey City Canada locations across Canada. Suggested retail price is $109.99.

Want to win this $650 Ultimate Reebok-CFL Fan Bag?

I have one Prize Package to give away to one of my readers! To enter, simply leave a comment on my blog telling me where these jerseys are available for purchase!

With the warm weather finally upon us, I am sure that many of you are flocking to your patios to BBQ as often as possible. Personally, I love to spend as much time as I can on my deck and I like to try to BBQ at least two or three times a week during the grilling season. I often joke that I would BBQ year round, provided I could find a way to pull the grill inside safely!

The folks from Barbecues Galore were kind enough to send me a summer BBQ essentials kit to help kick my grilling season off in a positive direction. After reviewing the kit, I could not help but notice that this would make an amazing father's day gift for any dad that loves to cook! The kit has all of the main ingredients for a successful BBQ, including:

a wok topper

a silicon basting brush

a stainless steel grill pot

a newfie silicon grill mitt

Gopher Guts Barbecue Sauce

Doctor McGrillemup’s Barbecue Tonic

The Clapper – tongs

Being a novice on the grill...I will take all of the help I can get! I love the fact that Barbecues Galore specializes in BBQ's and accessories and focuses directly on the outdoor cooking enthusiast. In fact, they have come up with some unique breakfast ( yes...Breakfast!) barbecue recipes, which I have attached below!